


Calamity Averted

by Laci_Taleweaver



Category: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Video Game), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, genfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:55:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28604811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laci_Taleweaver/pseuds/Laci_Taleweaver
Summary: This is based on the timeline of Hyrule Warriors 2: Age of Calamity.  If you haven't beaten the game, there will be spoilers!  Please tread carefully.  (Thanks to YouTube user BeardBear for recording all cinema scenes from the game, and inktivate for compiling all BotW cinema scenes in chronological order.  They were a major help.)
Relationships: Daruk & Yunobo (Legend of Zelda), Impa & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link & Champions, Link & Zelda, Mipha & Prince Sidon, Revali & Teba (Legend of Zelda), Urbosa & Riju
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I was inspired by the excellent new Hyrule Warriors game and its alternate timeline. A few things might differ slightly from the game, but I am doing my best here. If you haven't played the game, I highly recommend it. It's just as compelling as BotW, plus you can play as the Champions and Future Champions!  
> To help make sense of the whole time-travel plot, I've decided that all "future" scenes are from Timeline A (the main game timeline) and all "present" scenes are from Timeline B (the Hyrule Warriors timeline). Based on the in-game dialog, it's pretty clear that the New Champions are pulled from a point after the main BotW timeline.

_100 years in the future..._

He'd done it. Link had rescued Princess Zelda, and together they had sealed the Calamity away forever. The souls of the fallen Champions could finally rest in peace. Now all that was left was to destroy the monstrous remnants of the beast's powers.

Link laughed when he saw that the Guardians who had menaced Hyrule Castle Town had all deactivated, no longer a threat. He handed Zelda the Shiekah Slate that had served him so well in his year-long quest to save Hyrule from the Calamity.

Zelda tapped at the Shiekah Slate, selecting the Shrine of Ne'ez Youma within Zora's Domain. "You know, Link, I don't think I've heard you laugh since you first took hold of the Master Sword."

Link smiled, one hand on Zelda's arm to ensure that he was teleported with her. It was time to tell the New Guardians and their families of their success, and to appoint the New Champions as pilots of the Divine Beasts. The Divine Beasts could then protect Hyrule from any natural disasters and help rebuild some of the fallen towns.

Two figures disappeared in beams of light.

* * *

_At Hyrule Castle, not far in the future..._

Zelda looked up at the castle. It was now or never. She hurried into the main hall, dodging Guardians and monsters as she went.

The castle shook. Several crates fell from the shelf in Zelda's room. The lid fell off of a crate containing a very small Guardian, about the size of a cat. Zelda had planned to study it, before everything had gone so horribly wrong.

Zelda ignored the sounds of Moblins grunting, of Guardians trying to aim their deadly beams at her. She focused on the pounding of her own feet as she ran, the sharp pants of her breath, and the center of the Calamity.

When she finally reached the throne room, Zelda stopped to catch her breath. Power gathered in her hands, glowing golden. She flung them forward, towards the revolting being of pure Malice that sat on the throne, a grotesque parody of her lost father.

Zelda pushed back against the Calamity as hard as she could, and her sealing powers--the legacy of the goddess Hylia--pushed against the black miasma that surrounded her. She wasn't strong enough to banish Calamity from this realm, but she could hold him back in Hyrule Castle to buy Link time to recover in the Shrine of Resurrection. She had to.

The golden light surrounded her, freezing Zelda and the Calamity in time. Unbeknownst to the princess, it also activated the small Guardian in her bedroom.

Its camera-eye, shining with blue light, looked around the room. A little metal leg pushed open the shutters of Zelda's bedroom window, and the little Guardian analyzed what it saw. Black miasma. Ruin. Hyrule Castle had fallen.

It heard Zelda's voice from the throne room. "I must...protect...everyone!"

Unseen, the small Guardian opened a window in time and jumped through, just in time to avoid being hit by one of its fellow Guardians on the battlements. It was clear now what it would need to do in order to fulfill its mission of protecting Hyrule.


	2. The First Skirmish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Intro material, including a quick glimpse of a tiny Zelda and the first sighting of the little Guardian. It doesn't flow well, but I'm too excited and ADHD to put off posting it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yes, I know I'm pulling content straight from the games' cinema scenes. I can't help it if they work so well! See if you can tell which scenes in this fic are from Breath of the Wild, which are from Age of Calamity, and which are my own creations entirely. :) (Also: guess who can't write combat scenes for shit!)

_Hyrule Castle throne room_   
_10 years before the Calamity_

A group of scholars and seers had been granted an audience with the king, insisting that the matter was urgent.

"Sire," began a Rito seer, "you doubtless know of the great Calamity, Ganon, who struck this kingdom thousands of years ago."

King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule frowned. The Calamity was a tale so old it had been dismissed by many as mere folklore, but as a member of the royal family of Hyrule, he'd been taught from an early age about the long history of the Royal Family and its relationship with Demise and Ganon. His own daughter, Zelda, had shown the sign of the Triforce of Wisdom on her hand when she was born, proof that she was an incarnation of Hylia. And it was passed down for millennia that when the goddess was reincarnated, it was a sure sign that the ancient evil known as Ganon would return, and that only the princess and her sacred knight, a young man wielding the sword of evil's bane, could stop him.

"Do you know when the Calamity is likely to return?"

"My visions," a Gerudo prophet spoke up, "indicate that it will return when the princess is seventeen years old, Your Majesty."

A Shiekah man named Robbie spoke up. "My cousin Purah and I have unearthed ancient Shiekah technology in our archaeological digs, including turrets that could walk on six legs, which we believe to be the Guardians mentioned in the ancient texts. We also found this." He showed the king a strange-looking tablet. As Rhoam examined the tablet, his hand brushed a clear glass screen on one side, and writing appeared in the old Shiekah tongue.

"Curious. Find out if there is more technology like this. When the Calamity returns, we will need every means of defense we can find. My people must be kept safe while we find the bearer of the Master Sword, so that we can seal the Calamity away with as little bloodshed as possible." He turned to where Zelda, a girl of seven, was eavesdropping behind a wall, certain that she was hidden from view. "And my daughter will need training to awaken the power of the Triforce that slumbers within her."

* * *

_Hyrule Castle training ground_   
_8 months before the Calamity_

"YAAH!" Sword clanged against shield as Link attacked his training opponent. He deftly knocked the shield from the soldier's hand and slashed the air, his swordpoint stopping just an inch from the soldier's neck.

Link, the newest knight of Hyrule, had won the mock duel.

"That young knight is surprisingly skilled for his age," Princess Zelda commented. She had paused in her duties to watch the skirmish, her Shiekah attendant Impa, as always, by her side.

"Come on now, Princess," Impa said, gently pulling Zelda's arm. "You'll be late for your next lesson."

* * *

Later that morning, King Rhoam addressed his knights from the battlements of Hyrule Castle.

"Listen well, soldiers of Hyrule. In our long history, we have scarcely faced a threat of this magnitude.

"The years have passed quickly since Calamity Ganon's revival was prophesied. Yes, we have unearthed the Divine Beasts and filled volumes with our knowledge of ancient relics, but a barricade of books will not protect us. Because this way surges a horde like we have never faced before. Even now the enemy is clawing for our throat--for Hyrule Castle itself."

Some of the soldiers shifted uncomfortably at that. All were prepared to give their lives for the kingdom--but that didn't mean they actually _wanted_ to face death so soon.

"We must exterminate the monsters roaming Hyrule Field. Thus will begin our renewed effort to stop the Calamity!" The king drew his massive gold-embellished sword. "Now go forth, and be brave for your kingdom!"

The knights of Hyrule cheered and saluted the king with their own swords. Link was about to face actual enemies for the first time.

* * *

The Bokoblins were routed with only a few injuries on the Hyrulian side. As the other soldiers returned to the castle to have their wounds tended, Link paused to look at the small white object he found up against a rock. It almost looked like--

"You! Help!" cried Impa, clutching a Shiekah Slate, as a rogue detachment of Bokoblins chased her. She stumbled, and the Slate went flying from her hands.

As Link hurried to catch the rare device, it sent out a signal that awakened the little white Guardian.


	3. The Little Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new mystery has appeared--a tiny Guardian and a tall, thin tower. Time for our heroes to get to the bottom of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit short, but I wanted to get something out there today. While I'm now just before the apparent final battle in the game, my transcription of AoC content has been rather slow. Re-watching every cinema scene, hitting Play and Pause over and over, takes a very long time.

Link caught the Shiekah Slate just before a small tremor shook the immediate area. "What?" cried Impa. "Why is this happening?"

From the ground arose a tall, thin tower, knocking the Bokoblins aside.

A small scuttling noise caught Link's attention, and he looked to see the little white Guardian approaching the tower on its three little legs. I wonder...

The little Guardian seemed to notice it was being watched and whistled at the two people it sensed nearby.

"Hmm..." thought Impa. "An inexplicable Guardian and a mysterious tower. I hate to say it, but we have little hope of figuring this out on our own."

Suddenly, the little Guardian began to scuttle toward the castle. "No!" cried Impa. "Stop right there!" She and Link pursued the knee-high automaton.

"Each of you has served your kingdom admirably," said the King, standing in front of the soldiers who had fought that day.

Link and Impa filed in just after the soldiers were dismissed. They saw Zelda walking through the dim main hall of the castle into the warm sunlight.

"You made it!" she said as a smile danced in her eyes. "I'm glad you're safe, Impa."

"Yes, Your Highness," the Shiekah replied as Link knelt respectully beside her. "And I've received the Sheikah Slate from Purah."

Before anyone could stop it, the little Guardian darted past Link, coming nearly to Zelda's feet. Link quickly grabbed the Guardian and pulled it away from the princess.

"Ah, what is that?" Zelda asked, fascinated by the little device. The little Guardian beeped cheerfully.

The screen on the Sheikah Slate suddenly lit up. "Your Highness!" cried Impa, showing the princess the Eye of the Sheikah logo that appeared on the screen. After the logo flashed several times, text began to appear.

_This unit is from [garbled symbols] Calamity. Time jump status: successful. Directive: save Princess Zelda._

"We'd better let some of the Sheikah researchers know about this," said the Princess. "Who do you recommend?"

"Purah and Robbie are two of the best technological researchers we have," said Impa. "If anyone can figure out why and how this litle guy traveled through time, or what he has to do with the strange tower that appeared in Hyrule Field when we found him, it's those two."


	4. Visions of Calamity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Princess sees the images that the little Guardian has brought from the future and makes plans to accelerate the plan for Hyrule's defense against the Calamity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I've done it! I've completed the main game! That means I can tweak little bits of the story I've got written down to flesh them out more! But transcribing everything so I can polish it and adapt it to my own needs is...slow going.

Zelda had come with Impa to the research facility in Hateno. With Link acting as their bodyguard, the young women made their way to Purah's Ancient Tech Lab. As they walked, the little Guardian followed along, beeping happily, always close to the Princess.

"Why is it so attached to me?" Zelda asked as they walked through a mountain pass, stopping to crouch down and smile at the ancient automaton. "Whatever could you be, little one?"

The Guardian only beeped and whistled back up at her.

"I suppose all we can do is wait for the researchers at the lab to analyze it."

Suddenly, the Guardian's beeping began to sound like an alarm. A dark cloud had appeared that caused a Guardian about ten meters away to activate. Link saw it preparing to fire on the princess and quickly blocked the blast with his shield.

"A Guardian attack? But why?" Impa asked. All of them were shocked that the ancient technology that the Shiekah had unearthed would ever turn on a member of the royal family.

Link quickly took Zelda by the hand and led the trio out of the evil Guardian's range--only for monsters to appear up ahead. A pack of Bokoblins, led by a fierce Moblin. Link had no choice but to take the monsters down.

After neutralizing the Bokoblins with a spinning sword attack, then driving an arrow into the skull of the Moblin, Link then turned his attention to the evil Guardian. Impa used her Sheikah fighting skills to help distract the beast with her illusions as Link slashed at the Guardian's legs, trapping it in place. After both fighters had worn it down, the ancient device finally burst in a shower of shrapnel, which Link's shield and Impa's shield magic quickly blocked from hitting Zelda.

The threats defeated, the trio continued to Hateno. As they entered the lab, they didn't see the corrupted version of the small Guardian that peeked at them from behind a nearby boulder. The Guardian that it had awakened had failed to neutralize the threat to the Calamity. Clearly, it needed underlings to help it with its mission of destroying Hyrule's royal family.

The Malice-infested little Guardian headed westward.

* * *

"This is technology the likes of which I've never laid eyes on!" cried Robbie excitedly. "We've got ourselves a brand-new, never-before-witnessed Guardian model!!" He posed dramatically. Robbie was a bit of an eccentric sometimes.

"Devices like the Sheikah Slate, which interface with such ancient relics, are but a meager fragment of the technology we've uncovered."

I see; that explains the message on the Sheikah Slate," Impa said.

obbie continued his explanation--and his posing. "In addition, this here doohickey is loaded with data--amounts of information we can't even fathom!

ust then, Robbie's equally-eccentric cousin and fellow researcher, Purah, walked in, also posing. "Check it out! I extracted some visual data from the Guardian's memory." She handed the Sheikah Slate to Princess Zelda.

Zelda and Impa looked into the Slate and saw the familiar streets of Hyrule Castle Town, in ruins. Fires had begun, and several buildings had collapsed. "Is that--" Zelda started, hardly willing to even speak of the carnage on the little screen.

"No doubt about it," Impa said. That's Hyrule Castle after the revival of Calamity Ganon."

More chilling scenes emerged: five odd pillars rising out of the ground, the palace wreathed in clouds of an unnatural black-and-purple hue.

"As you can see," said Robbie, "we managed to extract some of the data, but much of it was fragmented. Even so, if I analyze what we receied, I may be able to make sense of more of it." The Guardian beeped at him.

"This is the ruin the Calamity will bring upon all of Hyrule," Zelda breathed, unable to tear her eyes away from the horrors displayed on the Sheikah Slate. "If we allow this to pass, I fear all hope will be lost."

"Even everything we've done up until now likely won't be enough," Impa commented.

"If I don't succeed at sealing the Calamity..." Zelda suddenly became more resolute, squaring her shoulders in determination. "Never. This will not come to pass."

* * *

There were three things necessary to stop Calamity Ganon: the sword that seals the darkness, the latent power within Princess Zelda, and the four Divine Beasts, massive mechanical creatures that had been found by the Sheikah archaeologists. Zelda's power showed no signs of awakening, no pilots had yet been found for the Divine Beasts, and the sword was deep within Korok Forest.

King Rhoam sent his daughter out to gather pilots for the Divine Beasts. Candidates had been found from among four of Hyrule's people's: the bird-like Rito, the aquatic Zora, the stony Gorons, and the desert-dwelling Gerudo. Zelda, accompanied by Link, whose bravery had earned him the role of the princess's knight and bodyguard, prepared for her journey to meet with each of the four candidates. Impa would also accompany them as the princess's attendant.

The morning of their departure, King Rhoam eyed the little Guardian by Zelda's side warily. "You intend to let this relic follow you around, then?"

"Yes," his daughter replied. "After talking to Purah and Robbie, we thought it would be best."

"I will remind you once again," the king said, "Above all else, your duty is of the utmost importance. Are we clear?"

"I understand," said the Princess passionately, "and I will honor my duty."

Rhoam watched the trio as they left the palace, hoping that nothing should happen to his only child on the way. On her young shoulders rested the hope of all Hyrule.


	5. Zora Grace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mipha is the first candidate that Zelda and her entourage visit. After initial reluctance, King Dorephan of the Zora agrees to his daughter piloting Vah Ruta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ye gods, sorting out the likely order of memories between AoC and BotW into a coherent whole was trickier than I'd realized. I'm streamlining them and tweaking bits that don't quite match up between the two, so you'll see some parts that don't match either game. It doesn't help that AoC has the Champions being selected before Link is chosen by the Master Sword, while the BotW DLC has them accepting Zelda's call after he's already been chosen.

_The Zora throne room_

_Two months before the Calamity_

"My Mipha pilot the Divine Beast?" King Dorephan was easily fifteen feet tall, and his throne room was equally impressive. Beside him stood his advisers, who were closer to the size of Hylians and thus dwarfed by the massive ruler, even though they stood and he was seated.

"Yes," replied Zelda. "My father, King Rhoam, has faith she will do her utmost...with your permission, of course."

Dorephan considered. "This will be a dangerous mission, piloting the Divine Beast against the darkness. And I understand that the knight who will seal that darkness has not yet appeared."

"That is true," Zelda conceded, bowing her head.

"I must refuse," replied the Zora king. "I cannot send my daughter into such peril."

"But I--" Zelda stepped forward, about to argue, when she was interrupted by a messenger.

"Your Majesty! Monsters are coming from Ploymus Mountain!"

Meanwhile, Link and Mipha were walking along one of the many bridges that crisscrossed the Domain. "Well, Link," the Zora princess said, "you've grown since I last saw you." His father, a knight, had visited the Domain many times when Link had been a child. "And yet, you have not changed." She saw that the little Guardian had followed Link out onto the bridge and gasped.

Mipha crouched down to get a better look at the object. "This creature is a Guardian?" The little Guardian beeped as if in agreement. The Zora princess giggled. "How cute!"

A messenger arrived on the bridge with news. "Princess Mipha! Monsters on Ploymus Mountain! Marching this way!"

Mipha strode up to the messenger, all thought of play gone. "What of my father?"

"His Majesty is leading the army to intercept." The messenger looked around, concerned. "He thought the prince was here with you."

"Sidon is missing?" Mipha cried.

Link nodded, to indicate that he would gladly help find and rescue little Sidon. Mipha nodded back.

"We will find Sidon," she informed the messenger. "You must watch over the Domain."

* * *

As the two warriors crested Mt. Ploymus, they saw a tiny red Zora, only about three feet tall, brandishing a small spear and trying to fight a seven-foot-tall Lynel.

The frightening man-beast saw Link and Mipha, decided its prey was not worth the fight, and left to join the other monsters.

"Sidon!" Mipha cried.

The tiny prince stepped forward slowly, aware that he was in trouble.

"Why would you try to fight that beast alone?" Mipha asked her brother. "I was so worried about you!" She drew Sidon into a tight hug.

"But still," the princess continued, "I am proud. What a brave little brother I have!"

Sidon grinned.

The touching family reunion was interrupted by the sound of the little Guardian's warning siren.

From Shatterback Point, Link, Mipha, and Zelda (who had joined them once the Lynel was gone) could see a massive army of Moblins, Bokoblins, and Lynels, all marching towards Zora's Domain.

Zelda was about to comfort Mipha when her little Guardian beeped again. The Sheikah Slate lit up.

The two princesses looked at the Slate's screen and saw a schematic of an elephant-like structure: Vah Ruta.

"What is that?" Mipha asked, intrigued.

_Just outside Zora's Domain_

Spear met club as the first wave of Bokoblins descended on the Zora. The Zora guard fought valiantly to protect their home from destruction.

"Zora!" cried King Dorephan from the midst of his army, "there is no turning back now!"

An electrified Moblin had leaped at the king, and was about to land, club-first, when a blast of blue light blew it away.

"Could it be?" the king asked, his eyes following the beam of light to its source.

It was. Vah Ruta had joined the fight.

The Divine Beast's water-spraying trunk, massive heavy feet, and energy beam made quick work of the monsters, while Mipha was careful to keep the massive automaton from crushing her own people. What would have been a long, devastating battle became a short skirmish with only a handful of Zora casualties. All over the battlefield, defeated monsters blew away as black dust.

* * *

The next day, King Dorephan met with the Hylians again. This time, Sidon and Mipha were in the throne room at his side.

"The attack yesterday proves your point. We are woefully unprepared to defend against the Calamity. The Zora will face this peril head on." The king glanced at tiny Sidon. "After all, we must consider the future.

"We all share this land of Hyrule, so all of us must do our part." He turned to his daughter. "Mipha. Attend."

"Yes, Father." Mipha walked forward to stand before Dorephan.

"You will become the pilot of the Divine Beast Vah Ruta, on one condition." The Zora king rose from his throne. "You must promise to come back safely."

Happy to do her duty, Mipha smiled and nodded.

* * *

_Veiled Falls, above Zora's Domain_   
_A few hours later_

Mipha knelt at the edge of the platform overlooking Veiled Falls, with Zelda behind her. "So, Princess, may I ask who the other chosen Champions are?" she asked as she rose to stand.

"For Goron vigilance, Daruk. For Rito confidence, Revali. For Gerudo spirit, Urbosa. And also, the Hylian with the sword that seals the darkness."

"Oh..." Mipha looked down. She hoped that this chosen warrior would be Link, the young Hylian she'd seen grow up as his family visited Zora's Domain over the years. She was growing rather fond of him.

In the water near the base of the falls, little Prince Sidon gazed up adoringly at his big sister. She called to him. "Sidon! Hurry and swim up here!"

"Mipha," Zelda said, frowning, "perhaps he is still too young to swim up this big waterfall."

"One day, Princess," Mipha said, looking over her shoulder at the young Hylian, "I must leave him, to face my fate with Ruta." She winked and leaped into the waterfall, riding its spray all the way down into the reservoir.

"Join me," she said to her tiny brother, who swam closer to her. "We'll go together so you can get a feel for it." Sidon clung to her back.

"Let's go!" Mipha cried, shooting up the waterfall with her laughing passenger. She shot up into the air at the top of the waterfall, flipping to land deftly back on the platform, and deposited little Sidon at her feet. She then knelt down to gently tilt Sidon's chin up. "Sweet Sidon, should fate ever part us, I'm counting on you to protect our beloved home from harm. Understood?"

Sidon nodded.

"I believe in you," said the gentle Zora princess. "Now, shall we try one more time?"

Sidon grinned, showing his sharp teeth, and raised an excited fist.


End file.
